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Is there any advice for some of those students of knowledge who rush in making rulings upon others and obligate that which should not be obligated and inflate some issues which cause differing and in fact broaden differing?

And some of these are issues wherein there can be difference of opinion yet within these issues among the students of knowledge some of them exaggerate in censuring the opposer and it may even be the case that this is spread on some websites which then cause fitna among the students of knowledge.

Answer:

It is obligatory on every Muslim, and on the student of knowledge, to fear Allaah, Mighty and Majestic, and to be preoccupied with seeking knowledge and obtaining it and to know the way, or ways, that the Kibaar ’Ulama traversed such as: Shaykh Bin Baaz, Shaykh Ibn ’Uthaymeen, Shaykh ash-Shinqeetee and Shaykh al-Albaanee. Meaning: that a person has to safeguard and know what those Kibaar ’Ulama were upon in being preoccupied with knowledge.

As for the condition of a person being preoccupied with qeela wa qaal and following mistakes or searching out mistakes and warning from people on account of “he has such and such” then such a preoccupation makes people stay away from knowledge and to become preoccupied with that which is not befitting to become preoccupied with.

A person should only safeguard benefitting from knowledge and referring to it, and if an error is committed by a person, if the person is from Ahl us-Sunnah and from those who are preoccupied with knowledge, then such a person is neither to be abandoned nor warned against. Rather he is to be benefitted from and informed of his error and likewise his error is to be warned against. As for him being abandoned, censured and warned against then this is neither the way of justice nor of attaining knowledge.

Because if Ahl us-Sunnah was on this way then it would mean that they would bit by bit disappear and none of them would remain according to them! Rather, it is upon a person to safeguard attaining knowledge and be preoccupied with knowledge and not to become preoccupied with qeela wa qaalbecause those who become preoccupied with this do not attain knowledge and do not become preoccupied with knowledge, they only become preoccupied with qeela wa qaal.

No benefit at all is gained behind this and only harm is gained by them speaking about others. Being preoccupied with these issues which are not befitting to be preoccupied with, and which are not befitting for a person to preoccupy his time with, cuts off the route to benefitting from others who have good and are preoccupied with knowledge.

The Etiquette of Seeking Knowledge … to adorn oneself with beautiful etiquette, noble manners, good behaviour, and pious conduct are distinguishing characteristics of the people of Islaam, and knowledge – the most precious pearl in the crown of the purified Shareeah – cannot be attained except by those who adorn themselves with its etiquette and those who leave evil qualities associated to it. For this reason the scholars devoted their attention to this etiquette, outlined its importance and wrote books solely on this topic; either pertaining to (general conduct] with all types of knowledge or to specific types of knowledge such as the etiquette of the carriers of the Noble Quireaan, the etiquette of the muhaddith, the etiquette of the muftee, the etiquette of the qaadee (judge), the etiquette of the muhtasib (the one who enjoins good and forbids evil for the sake of Allaah) and so on. The issue of this book is the general conduct of those who take the path of seeking the knowledge of the Sharee’ah.